Follow our adventures as we share our thoughts, impressions and awe at what could be called: Foreign Service's Wide World of Talalay.

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

Scooter Invasion! Taipei!

The scooter invasion wave that's swept most of Asia has also claimed Taipei. The good: scooter ownership signifies an emerging middle class, able to afford its own transportation for the first time. The bad: scooters seem to have taken over the city like cicadas.

A typical Taipei street, overrun with scooters. And they keep moving, keep coming, at every intersection.

Why restrict your scooter to the streets when sidewalks are also available? Didn't I used to walk on the sidewalk, what's the difference? And once you start riding on the sidewalk, you also might as well park on it. Is it a sidewalk anymore?

Park 'em, if you've got 'em (and they have a lot), here down the middle of a closed covered market. Finally, actual two-wheeler parking spaces. Taipei needs to find about a million more of them.